6 E-commerce startups from Hong Kong that raised funds

As a regional trading and service hub, Hong Kong is an ideal place for commercial activities take place day and night, online and offline. According to Euromonitor International, the sales value of internet retailing in Hong Kong amounted to HK$13.7 billion in 2016.

Grana

Grana, a Hong Kong-based online fashion startup, announced in November 2017 that it has raised an undisclosed amount of funding via venture debt from Hong Kong’s STI Financial Group.

Prior to that, Grana has raised US$10 million in October 2016 in a Series A round led by Alibaba Hong Kong Entrepreneurs Fund, with the participation from existing investors including Golden Gate Ventures and MindWorks Ventures.

The startup had also secured a total of US$6 million in a seed round from Golden Gate Ventures, Bluebell Group, MindWorks Ventures, 500 Startups and Sazerac Group. The 2 round of funding brings Grana’s total disclosed funding at US$16 million.

Launched in October 2014 by Luke Grana and Pieter Paul Wittgen, Grana is an international E-Commerce platform that sells wardrobe essentials to customers across 67 countries from its warehouse in Hong Kong. Other than the warehouse, the startup also operates 15 pop-up showrooms in Hong Kong, Singapore, the United States and Australia, where customers can try on their entire range of clothing and find the perfect fit.

SHOPLINE

SHOPLINE, a B2B E-Commerce software platform for merchants in Asia, has secured an undisclosed amount of funding in pre-series A round in May 2016 from Alibaba Hong Kong Entrepreneurs Fund. Alibaba Hong Kong Entrepreneurs Fund also invested in YEECHOO and GoGoVan in the same round of investment.

Prior to the pre-series A round, the startup has also secured US$1.2 million seed funding from investors including 500 Startups, Ardent Capital, SXE Ventures, East Ventures, and COENT Venture Partners in February 2015.

Founded in 2014 by Raymond Yip and an international team, SHOPLINE allows merchants to launch their self-branded online shop that is fully optimized for desktop and mobile devices. The startup joined the 500 Startups accelerator program in Silicon Valley in 2014.

YEECHOO

YEECHOO, an online designer clothing rental platform, has raised an undisclosed amount of funding from Alibaba Hong Kong Entrepreneurs Fund, the announcement was made in May 2016. Alibaba Hong Kong Entrepreneurs Fund also invested in SHOPLINE and GoGoVan in the same round of investment.

Founded in 2014 by Abby Zhang, YEECHOO is a Hong Kong-based online platform for designer apparel rental. The startup has partnered with more than 150 designers globally and offers thousands of latest season products to customers. Customers can select the items and make the payment online, YEECHOO will deliver, collect and take care of the maintenance of every rental. The startup aims to grow quickly in the Asia Pacific fashion retail ecosystem.

Swapit

Swapit, a location-based P2P trading app that allows users to buy and sell goods, has raised an undisclosed amount in a seed funding round from Aria Ventures, a division of Hong Kong-based Aria Group. The announcement was made in December 2015, the funding will be used for technology development as well as market expansion.

Founded in 2015 by Patrick Kosiol, Swapit connects buyers and sellers via its mobile app, allowing users to trade goods with people nearby. Swapit has participated in the SoftLayer Catalyst, Microsoft BizSpark, and Facebook’s new FbStart program.

Bindo

Bindo, a cloud-based iPad Point-of-Sale system with multiple customizable features for retail and restaurants, has raised US$2 million in a bridge round. The startup has also raised US$1.8 million in May 2014, in a seed round participated by Gary Vaynerchuk, East Ventures, and Metamorphic Ventures.

Founded in 2013 by JoMing Au, Brad Lauster, and Jason Ngan, the New York- and Hong Kong-based startup allows online shopping for the end customers. The startup has won the Startup Asia 2014 competition and received a cash prize of US$10,000. Bindo has more than 3,000 merchants in over 60 countries.

Goxip

Goxip, a mobile-first shopping and discovery app, has raised US$1.62 million in a seed round led by Chryseis Tan, with the participation from Ardent Capital. The announcement was made in May 2016, the funding will be used to fuel the team expansion and core product proposition enhancement.

Goxip was also the winner of BreakthroughHK 2015, a startup pitch competition during the RISE conference in Hong Kong, where a total of 20 new and unfunded startups showcased their business idea. Goxip stood out from the crowd and won US$120,000.

Founded in 2015 by Juliette Gimenez, Goxip allows users to search, discover and shop over 5 million fashion items from more than 36,000 brands through celebrity style feeds. The “snap and shop” function helps users find fashion using camera or snapshots of the wanted items.